A kick off meeting for the proposed bmx dirt track was held today at Lordship Recreation Grounds.
Some of the representatives were Luisa from Harringey council who is coordinating the project, Phil Dunne the park architect (and previous bmx racer / freestyle rider), DJ CK Flash who runs xtremebmx has built tracks and organises races and school activities in Peckham and trains the olympic team. We also had Ian Holt the environmental conservationist, Dave Morris from the friends of Lordship Rec representing the community interests and of course myself from iBikeRide.

A great mix of people with different skills and perspectives enthused to collaborate to make something last for users of this north london community in the garden of the Broadwater farm estate.

We looked at the existing track which is next to the model road section. The trail is split in two and a pedestrian path runs through it. As nice as it would be to keep it especially for younger kids and build it up there a few things to consider. Firstly the track is in conflict with pedestrian access. Secondly it is quite far from the new proposed track. The reality could be that once the new track is built all (including the younger children) will gravitate to it. Also to keep it would involve cordoning it off into a smaller section to avoid pedestrian conflict.

We walked around the proposed new area which is in a wooded area that is quite damp. The area is challenging as although the redesign of the park in total will increase the ecological value in the area a priority is to retain as much conservation wildlife value as possible. Particularly the wet areas as these house rich wildlife. The area has many trees which may be able to be trimmed and raised but need to stay which will be inleeping also with the woodland feel. The conservation study can't be done any earlier than April and the results of which will drive much of the design.

We reviewed the updated design for the track and spoke about the type of track it would be. Two designs were discussed a pump track which potentially has wider appeal  but less opportunity for organised races and activities and a bmx dirt track which would allow for more races and organised activities after and out of school activities. No decision has been made yet and frankly the cross over in track design is very similar these days and both types of tracks can be ridden by all types of bikes and riders.

Next step is the architect to upgrade drawings based on our input and the conservation survey to be done and distributed. Followed by a meeting again on the site to review.

Under the umbrella of iBikeRide -I am going to focus to get the local youth and future users of the park involved and organised from the beginning. So next step is work to run a consultation with the potential users of the bmx dirt park via conversations and posters in the park, Broadwater estate, local community centres and the schools. This will most likely direct them to a survey / forum to gauge ideas and it will also to start the process of getting the local community of bike users engaged, organised and involved from the beginning going forward. I will manage this via the site and may set up a specific area and new environment to welcome and engage with this new community. If you want to get involved let me know. There is going to be lots to do and this is really important I believe.

I'm will be  attending the next friends of Lordship rec meeting in early April and will also take up CK's invite to spend a morning at the peckham bmx track. If it was not for Wales I'd be there this weekend!

We have a limited budget but we also have a pretty great team. Also most of the materials will come from the by-product of other work in the park which is a great advantage. The park is likely to be built in the winter of 2010 and then North London will firmly be on the off road bike map. More off road biking will have taken an enormous step forward by being accessible to urban areas as well as to so many more young people regardless of their and social, ethnic and economic backgrounds. Think of how much positive focus, creativity and self esteem this will create for our next generation. Want to get involved?